The Minnesota Vikings fell to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-24 Saturday morning, and there are a multitude of reasons as to why. Whether it was gameplan-oriented or situational football, both were key to the 17-3 lead blown in the collapse of the Vikings.
3 Reasons the Vikings Collapsed in the Fourth Quarter
Nick Mullens
If you were to think of a stat line for the fourth quarterback to start a game for the Vikings, 300 yards on 78% completed passes with two touchdowns and two interceptions would be a miracle. That stat line sure isn’t what it felt like watching Mullens play.
He deserves credit for some plays he made, both touchdowns to Jordan Addison were awesome. (The second of which gave half of all Minnesotans watching a heart attack. Great play Nick but please don’t do that again)
Nick Mullens (2) to Jordan Addison (8)
Minnesota Vikings
1 Yard
pic.twitter.com/S1cMh5zjaw— NFL TD Videos (@NFLTDsVideos) December 16, 2023
But he was for the most part what you’d expect out of a backup who’d been on injured reserve for a large part of the year. Missing easy throws, some of which went directly do the defense and were luckily dropped. Some were thrown directly to the defense and were not dropped and returned for a touchdown. But since Trey Hendrickson was offsides by the very tip of his helmet it was called back. Between errant throws, including a hilariously bad interception somehow being sacked and throwing it at B.J. Hill, the guy sacking him and intercepting it, all while the process of being sacked was going on.
B.J. Hill makes one of the wildest big man INTs of the season!
📺: MINvsCIN on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/vtmfEKvOLy pic.twitter.com/qLCtwmwtQP— NFL (@NFL) December 16, 2023
Missing blitzes coming and being rocked by them (some of this criticism is part of the game-planning, and we’ll get to that!) Long story short Nick Mullens played fine and was not the reason the Vikings lost this game.
He’ll get the start against Detroit and if things go south, rookie Jaren Hall will be quick to fill his shoes off the bench.
The Defensive Collapse
The start of the fourth quarter began and on the NFL Network broadcast a graphic was shown saying the Vikings hadn’t given up a touchdown in roughly 160 minutes of game-time. They gave up a touchdown in the next play. Thanks, announcer curse.
After honestly dominating the game for 45 minutes, the Vikings collapsed in the fourth quarter and overtime. Giving up three touchdowns after not giving any up for almost three games. Whether it was letting Tee Higgins posterize them on a catch that will be shown on NFL commercials for years to come. Or letting Jake Browning make pretty great throws into that patented drop-eight coverage the Vikings run.
They couldn’t get pressure on blitzes and couldn’t stop the pass dropping men into coverage. The perfect formula for blowing a lead. This was the type of defensive catastrophe that other teams could take notice of and exploit. If Detroit does some of the similar things Cincinnati was able to do, the Vikings are completely and royally screwed. This defense is all they have going for them. If they don’t play well enough to win with a backup’s backup at quarterback, this team isn’t making the playoffs.
The QB Sneaks
What most people likely took away from the game Saturday was the two quarterback sneaks that, for an abundance of perfect words, failed miserably being the words I’ll choose to put down.
A tush-push with 5’ 8” 181 lbs return-specialist Brandon Powell on two plays in a row saw the Vikings go farther backward than forwards, turning the ball over on downs in overtime and essentially sealing the game.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell said both that the reason they were in the personnel they were was because they didn’t think Cincinnati had the right package on the field themselves to stop it. Powell was on the field to be a decoy for the jet-sweep (a play they set up in the past)
After all of that, it’s easy to say that was a dumb idea now, and replacing Powell with a slightly bigger player doesn’t change the fact that the entire interior of the offensive line got blown back (without D.J Reader who left the game in the first quarter) and a bobbled snap on the second sneak had that play dead on arrival. Just a disaster class of execution. Something the coaching staff has preached all season long, and something they haven’t been able to fix all season long.
What’s Next
The Vikings still control their destiny to make the playoffs and need a little help for the division crown. But everything is in front of them. Win and you’re in. If they lose, the Bengals game is a microcosm of the entire season. The Vikings are 7-0 when winning or tying in the turnover battle this year. 0-7 when they lose. If the Vikings can fix something they haven’t been able to in the next three weeks then they can be a real problem for teams in the playoffs. It’s up to them to fix it, with their backs against the wall.
Main Photo: Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK
